Walking safaris offer the ultimate safari experience. While 4X4s allow you to be efficient with your sightings and see as much as possible, exploring the wilderness on foot is all about the small things. While you might zoom past termite mounds in a 4X4 in favour of a nearby lion sighting, on foot you stop, study and learn all about their impressive colony for 15 minutes, which will often wind up being the most fascinating part of your trip.
While lots of guides will be able to wax lyrical about the hidden lives of termites or point out the difference between a leopard and lion track, not many will take the time to explain the many uses of an obscure plant you’d never even heard of. That’s the depth of knowledge you want from a walking safari, which are often the seasoned safari-goer’s favourite activity. So if you’re keen on exploring the bush by foot and learning about the little as well as the large, then it’s worth going to a specialist camp with the top guides so you can get the best experience possible.
North Luangwa – Mwaleshi Camp
North Luangwa’s Mwaleshi Camp strips everything back to a barebones safari experience. Its location – right in the sticks of the North Luangwa National Park in Zambia – is unparalleled for a wild African base. With no camps for miles around and only three in the whole park, staying in one of the four rooms here is very special. Mwaleshi is rustic, but utterly charming, with candle-lit intimate dinners and phenomenal guiding.
© Mwaleshi Camp
Re-built every year, the camp doesn’t have a nail in sight. Instead, you are cocooned in a grass pole construction, which feels very wild but is cosy and safe at the same time. This is a camp that prides itself on no-fuss, but quality food, wilderness and walking safaris. It’s an exceptional option.
South Luangwa – Robin Pope Mobile
Operating since 1990, Robin Pope Safaris have earned their reputation for hosting some of the best walking safaris in Africa. While other walking safari camps operate from the same base, Robin Pope’s offering is more intrepid, as it covers 10km a day with camp moving each night.
Of course, you won’t be carrying your belongings, but these will be ferried onwards to the next stop. You will also – as is standard with walking safaris – be accompanied by an armed game scout and experienced guide, as you wind your way up the Mupamhadzi River in the South Luangwa National Park.
© Robin Pope Safaris
While your mobile camp will be basic – but still offers beds, delicious meals, and everything you could need – you will start and finish at a permanent lodge to bookend the nine-day adventure with some luxury, and the option of game drives.
Robin Pope’s mobile safaris were the original offering, and are still one of the best if you want a true adventure in the wilderness.
Mana Pools – Vundu Chitake Springs
Mana Pools is Zimbabwe’s answer to the South Luangwa National Park when it comes to walking safaris, and there are two options here which stand out among the rest: Vundu Camp and Camp Chitake.
Owned by a top Zimbabwean guide Nick Murray, Vundu’s walking safaris exceed expectations. Here, you really feel part of some impressive web of knowledge and insight, that has even extended to David Attenborough’s Dynasties team, which filmed here for months. This is a great walking camp if you want all the knowledge, but don’t want a fully back-to-basics tented experience. Vundu is a permanent lodge, and therefore affords luxuries the tented options cant – like comfortable sofas, solid furnishings and proper floors.
© Vundu Camp
If you want this same walking safari experience but under canvas, Little Vundu – with its five tents set on the banks of the Zambezi River – is an incredible option. While facilities are basic in terms of furnishings, guiding is some of the best in Africa and the food is delicious.
Camp Chitake is another tented option for those who want to immerse themselves in nature. Its walking safaris take you into the deep woodland valleys and up to the best viewpoints in the park, and these on-foot adventures are some of the best in the region.
Back at camp on the edge of the Chitake river, the tents are simple but comfortable, with twin beds and washing facilities. But here, like with all these more basic offerings, luxury can be found in the quality of exploration, rather than the size of your room.
